A question about the glowline

[AndreasDavour]

I'm reading about the glowline on p.184 in HeroQuest Glorantha, and I can't make sense of the rules for the Glowline.

Under the section The Lunar Cycle is say that within the Glowline, it's as if the moon is always Half Moon. Then a few lines below it say "Phase restrictions are independent of the Lunar Cycle". Doesn't that contradict the first statement?

If someone could write up some examples of all the phases and within/without Glowline maybe it will become clearer?

[David Scott]

No. One is about the power of the moon within the glow line, the other is about what the phases actually do. In other words you can't do more or less with a phase if the moon is at greater or lesser power. 

[AndreasDavour]

Sorry, but I still don't get that.

[AndreasDavour]

So if I take those in isolation. When the moon phase is Dying Moon, I can only use augments, and when it's Full Moon all stretch penalties are cancelled. That part I get.

Now the Glowline. How does the Glowline affect the above, if at all?

If not, what does the Glowline affect?

[JonL]

Within the Glowline, Lunar magic is always at baseline, as though the moon is half-full.

[AndreasDavour]

42 minutes ago, JonL said:

Within the Glowline, Lunar magic is always at baseline, as though the moon is half-full.

So that means the phases are not active within the Glowline? I thought that David said that was not the case?

 

Seriously. I need this laid out in more detail. Call me stupid but I don't get it.

[JonL]

The "Phase restrictions" thing is talking about stuff like "You can never/only use Moon Rune of Phase X to produce effects of type Y for fictional/spiritual reason Z." Those sort of things are always the case, whether inside the Glowline or out, no matter what phase the Moon is in.

 

Within the Glowline, the waxing and waning of lunar magical power is what is stabilized at its middle-point. You never get a boost, and you're never dampenned. No matter what phase the Moon is in, Lunar magic performs as if the Moon were half-full.

Edited September 21, 2017 by JonL

[David Scott]

Here is a reiteration of the info in HeroQuest Glorantha: 

Phase	Outside the Glowline	Inside the Glowline
Full Half	All glamours work normally as described in the HQG rules.	All glamours work normally as described in the HQG rules.
Crescent Go	All glamours are treated as stretches. If a glamour is already a stretch then it may not be cast. Augments may be used as normal.	All glamours work normally as described in the HQG rules.
Dying Moon	Only augments may be used.	All glamours work normally as described in the HQG rules.
Black Moon	Only augments may be used.	All glamours work normally as described in the HQG rules.
Crescent Come	All glamours are treated as stretches. If a glamour is already a stretch then it may not be cast. Augments may be used as normal.	All glamours work normally as described in the HQG rules.
Empty Half	All glamours work normally as described in the HQG rules.	All glamours work normally as described in the HQG rules.
Full Moon	All stretch penalties are cancelled. Praise the Goddess!	All glamours work normally as described in the HQG rules.

and a clarification from page 407 in Paris GtA (on which the HQG rules are directly based):

Quote

It is worth repeating that the Phase restrictions are independent of the Lunar Cycle. A Lunar whose Moon Rune is tied to the Dying Moon still suffers penalties when the Red Moon is in the Dying Phase and benefits from when the Moon is Full.

 

[AndreasDavour]

Thanks! Now I think it makes sense, finally.